Mayor's Design Awards announced

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From a coffee house with a green design to a gathering place in a former industrial wasteland, from a dynamic railway station to a new airport concourse, from a facelift for what's now an upscale Cajun eatery to the restored roof of an old Polish church, 27 projects will be honored tomorrow by Mayor Tom Barrett for contributing to Milwaukee's urban landscape.

Barrett will present the Mayor's Urban Design Awards, for design excellence, and the Cream of the Cream City Awards, for smart preservation, at a reception at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Architecture and Urban Planning, 2131 E. Hartford Ave., at 5 p.m. Thursday.

The design awards will go to:

East Kilbourn streetscaping project, between Water St. and Prospect Ave., which included new plantings, lighting and improved crosswalks.

Shea Community Garden, at Shea and National avenues, for creating a gathering place and a perennial garden in an underutilized property from donated plants.

Menomonee Valley Community Park, 3500 W. Canal St., for creating a community park and being "one of the largest brownfield redevelopment successes in state history."

Alterra Coffee, 2999 N. Humboldt Blvd., for its innovative recycling of old buildings and green design.

Lloyd Street Global Education School Rain Garden, 1228 W. Lloyd St., a large structure on an asphalt playground, for providing green space for children, staff and the neighborhood.

Walgreens, 2950 N. Oakland Ave., for establishing a smart, new prototype for the building, including large, glass windows and a unique masonry exterior.

Milwaukee Intermodal Station, 433 W. St. Paul Ave., a city-state partnership that created a new transportation gateway for the Amtrak station.

North Point Light Station and House, 2650 N. Wahl Ave., for rejuvenating a part of Lake Park that had become an eyesore.

Walgreens, 3333 S. 27th St., for being "Milwaukee's first victory in working with Walgreen's to alter its design of its stores."

The 161 First building, 161 S. 1st St., a contemporary, four-story office and retail building for creating a humane working environment, a playful fa??ade and for its expressive use of materials.

Let's Party, 5444 W. Fond du Lac Ave., a $2.3 million expansion and renovation of a building that houses a party store, for creating jobs and establishing an elaborate African-American-owned banquet hall.

Mortara Instruments, 7865 N. 86th St., for a sensitive expansion of an existing business that incorporates natural light and surrounding woods.

The General Mitchell Midwest Concourse C project, for its large airline gate seating areas, an atrium with increased natural light and remodeled dining and retail areas.

The Moderne Sales Center, at the corner of Old World Third St. and Juneau Ave., for its artistic re-use of industrial shipping containers into a sales office for a new high-rise building.

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